Better in chairs

Here are Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, and Alexander Ludwig (he plays Cato) on The Marilyn Denis show in Toronto this morning to promote The Hunger Games, obviously. Hutcherson and Hemsworth were paired - and seated - during the junket, and have been, for the most part, assigned on press together. They’ve claimed that they’re close friends in real life; I believe it. When I interviewed them a few weeks ago in LA, it was there: they had an easy rapport, they seemed to read each other well when answering, there was some teasing, the meaning of which only they understood, and even some protectiveness - Josh (who really is SOOOO nice) of Liam, it seemed, as the latter appears to be less comfortable with media than the former. Pairing them is also a natural deterrent to any Miley Cyrus questions which were strongly discouraged and came with penalties.

And besides, media duty is probably the only time they get to be in the same room. As you’d expect, Josh and Liam had no real opportunities to interact during the movie, and, credit to the marketing team, The Hunger Games is not being sold as a love triangle, so any notion of the two as adversaries, romantic or otherwise, and any corresponding hype to support that is practically non-existent. All cast members in fact, especially the big three, are rather deliberate about downplaying the Peeta vs Gale situation, intent on staying close to The Hunger Games game plan: this is a story about survival, the sacrifices in service of it, and the relationships you make and break because of it.

What of those relationships then? That’s the conversation - not whether or not Peeta and Gale are opponents but whether or not Josh and Liam are each able to connect with Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss and how faithfully that chemistry is conveyed. My full, complete review will be posted tomorrow but I’ll say this - a chair may have been helpful.